Spinach and Egg Salad for Valentine's Dinner

This is a recipe from my Sister, who's a wonderful chef! It seems strange to put eggs in a salad, but this is a family favorite at my house! And the pink dressing makes it perfect for Valentines Day! Pair it with the heart enchiladas for a easy and yummy valentine meal!

Here's all it takes!

20 oz spinach

6 hard boiled eggs cut into slices

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup bacon bits

1/4 cup almond slices

Toss all this together! Then toss with dressing, or serve on the side

Dressing:

1 Tbs red onion chopped ( I just guess on this!)

3/4 C white vinegar

1 C oil (canola or olive is my favorite)

3/4 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp dry mustard

1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds

Blend chopped onions and 1/2 cup vinegar to blender. Blend until onion is fully crushed...no chunks left! Add the last 1/4 C. vinegar and all other ingredients EXCEPT poppy seeds. Blend until well mixed. Add poppy seeds and blend briefly. If you mix the poppy seeds too long, they get pulverized! Toss over salad, or serve to the side. I like to serve on the side, since the pink dressing is really beautiful! Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Valentine Dinner! Easy Enchiladas

Heart Enchiladas make a great Valentine dinner! This is a recipe that's been in my family for years and years, passed on to my mother by her grandmother, who was raised in Mexico! It's simple and low cost, and even my kids eat it!

Here's the Recipe:

corn tortillas (as many as you eat!)

1 can tomato juice (76 oz)

1 can tomato's (whole, crushed, diced...your choice)

1 tsp or more Chili powder (to taste)

1 tsp salt

Grated Cheese and diced onions(opt.)

Pour the tomato juice and other canned tomato's into a large saucepan and heat on med (I like tomato chunks, so I use whole tomatoes and cut them up into the pan. My sister doesn't like chunks, so she uses crushed tomatoes...whatever you prefer).

When warm, remove 1 cup of tomato juice and add 1 Tbs flour at a time until you get a thick paste. Add chili powder and salt to taste. I use about 3 Tbs. flour, and 2 tsp chili powder. Pour back into pan and mix. Let tomato juice mixture simmer until thickened. If it gets too thick, add a little water. If you like it thicker, let simmer longer.

Heat about 2 inches of oil in a sauce pan big enough to fit your tortillas! Use med to med-high.

Pre-cut tortillas into a heart shape (or any shape! Usually I just leave them round, but this was fun for Valentines day)!

When oil is warm it will bubble when a tortilla is placed inside. You don't want it so hot that it pops at you!

Cook tortillas in oil about 1 min, flipping 1/2 way through, then dip into sauce, and place on plate. Cover with cheese, then stack another cooked and sauced tortilla on top. Stack as many as you'd like. My kids eat about 2, my husband eats 4-5, I eat 3! Serve warm, with an egg or salad. Pictured is Spinach Salad, which is coming in a future post!

This recipe is very simple, but takes a few times to get perfect since it's such a 'feel' recipe. The good news is it makes so much sauce, there's plenty for left-overs! I usually get 3 meals out of this for my family of 6. I just reheat the sauce and make the tortillas fresh every time!

GIVEAWAY!! Be My Valentine Giveaway!!!

Be My Valentine Giveaway!!

Twigglebox.com wants to be your valentine this February 14th! We're giving away one of our hand-crafted personalized bow holders! Holds a complete wardrobe of little girls bows, earrings, clips, barrettes and more!

Also a pair of Personalized Hair Barrettes, and an assortment of our hand-tied bows and daisy flower hair clips.

All you have to do to enter is:

• Become a follower here on our blog
• Become a fan on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter
• Sign up at twigglebox.com for our e-newsletter and promo's
• Make a purchase at twigglebox.com (my favorite choice :-)!

The more places you sign up, the more likely you'll be to win! Pass this on to your friends and family...if we get a great response, we'll give-away more than 1 prize!

Winners will be announced on February 15th (due to Sunday) here and by email! Good Luck, and we hope you become our Valentine!

*odds of winning depend on number of entries received. No purchase necessary to win*

I Love Chocolate! Valentine Heart Cookies!

Difficulty: Easy Time: 1-2 hours (including bake & cooling time)

These Yummy Cookies are easy and fun for the kids to help make! Leave plain chocolate, or fill with frosting for a variety. One of our favorites, we call them "Home-Made Oreo's!" We usually make them round, but wanted to try a heart shape for Valentines day. Here's the Recipe, so you can try them for yourself!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies:

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

4 Squares Baking Chocolate (melted)

2 Cups Sugar

4 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla

2 Cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp salt

Powdered sugar (1-2 cups)

Mix Vegetable Oil, Chocolate and Sugar until well blended. Add Eggs one at a time and Mix well, Add Vanilla. Mix flour, Baking Powder and Salt, then add to Chocolate Mixture and mix well. Chill dough in Fridge for several hours or overnight (I stick it in the freezer to speed up the cooling time!). Drop by Tablespoons full into the powdered sugar, coat well and then shape into hearts (or, for normal circle cookies, balls).

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes (depending on size)

Makes 3 doz. single cookies

Optional Cream Cheese Frosting for filling:

3 oz Cream Cheese, Softened.

aprox. 1 Ib powdered Sugar

1 tsp. flavoring, if desired

(you might try mint, strawberry or raspberry)

Food Dye (optional)

Mix until a smooth and creamy consistency, adding more or less Powdered sugar depending on desired thickness. Spread onto one cooled cookie, and top with another cookie. Cookies filled with Cream Cheese frosting should be kept in the refrigerator.

Hopefully you enjoy these cookies as much as we do! Happy Valentines Day!

Conversation Hearts Valentines Vase

Difficulty: Easy Time: aprox 10 min

I lOVE conversation hearts...to me they are the perfect symbol of Valentines day! I saw this cute and easy vase a couple years ago in a magazine,and loved it! All you need is 2 glass cylinders, 1 to 2 inches different in size. Mine are 8 inches and 6 inches in diameter. Place the smaller one inside the larger, then fill in the gap with conversation hearts. Fill the inner cylinder with water and add flowers !

Hopefully you enjoy this as much as I have! I just keep changing my flowers....and I must admit, I do snitch a heart every once and a while. There's something about the crunchy, kind-of nasty, but good taste that take me back to grade school and homemade valentine cards!

"I Love You" sign language Valentines Day Card

Difficulty: Easy! Time: 30 min

This cute card is easy to make! Grandparents and Parents LOVE it because it uses your child's hand! First Trace your child's hand, and carefully cut around. Then you can paste to pre-made cards, or make your own.

I made the cards by folding a white paper in half, then tracing a heart shaped cookie cutter and cutting around, being careful not to cut all the way through the fold, so the card could open and close. Then I layered the Red heart on top, and added my Kids' hands. Fold the two middle fingers down, and glue into place. I used a glue stick, since Elmers takes too long to dry. If you have a problem getting the fingers to stick with a glue stick, try hot glue! It dries instantly, and holds very well. Just make sure only moms and dads use the hot glue gun. The hearts can easily be made larger for bigger hands. These are from my 3 and 1 year old.

It's fun to involve kids in crafts, but it's easier to do it on our own! I usually cut out doubles of everything I need, so my kids feel like they're "helping," but I still get a cute, well made project in the end! Good luck and enjoy

Love is Sweet!

Difficulty: Easy Time: 15 min

This is a great idea to give to a friend, teacher, or hubby (the fastest way to his heart is through his stomach!) I only used 1/2 dozen 'flowers,' but you could do a full dozen and make a complete bouquet. All you need is a bucket or pot, some floral foam, fake or 'silk' leaves (just the greenery), and 6-12 suckers for the flowers! Stuff the foam into the pot, and stick the leaves in so they look full. Then add the suckers in a pattern. I'm not really a florist...actually, not at all! But this one is pretty easy.

You might even add a sign or card that says "Love is Sweet," to top it off. Or maybe, "A Sweet for my Sweet!"

I used a bucket I embellished with a feather boa (see my 'Fancy' Valentine boxes post below!)

I'm all about maximizing my time, so most of my crafts are short and sweet! Hopefully you enjoy this easy valentine craft, and maybe your kids can even help! This could be a great gift or decoration for a wedding or bridal shower as well.

Feather Boa Barrettes/ Hair clips

Difficulty: Easy! Time: 10 min or less

Easy, fast and cheap! I made these for my girls for Valentines day! Reminds me of Fancy Nancy!

• Choose your favorite color of Feather Boa (available at twigglebox.com for $2.99)
• Cut into 2” strips, or longer if you wish.
• Use a Hot Glue Gun (grown-ups only please) to secure to your choice of clip. (I used plastic barrettes with teeth, you could also use alligator clips, or other)
• Tie with short string for extra security. (Pictured is a white string for visibility, but I like to use the clear elastic jewelry making string, available at most craft stores)
• Clip into pony tail, or into a headband or hat!

Now you have an easy valentine gift, or at least a funky hair style! Have Fun!

'Fancy' Feather Valentine boxes

Difficulty: Easy! Time: 10 min (or less)

Embellish any box, bucket or vase with Feather Boas for a cute and ‘fancy’ valentine look! My kids made these for their teacher valentine gifts, they were super easy, inexpensive and cute! Fill with chocolate dipped pretzels, or a store bought candy like conversation hearts.

Pick a plain box or bucket (I purchased mine at the dollar store)

Pick a colorful feather boa (you can find these HERE for only $2.99)

Plug in your Hot Glue Gun (parents only, please!)

Glue feather boa around the top of box.

You’re done! You can trim some of the feathers for a less poofy look!